Taking a Disciple

The young man took a slight breath.

He began to speak.

"Master Lu, my name is Lin Yan, I am fourteen years old, and I am from Jiangzhou."

The young man slowly continued.

Lin Yan was a local of Jiangzhou.

He was the descendant of a fallen martial arts family.

His mother had died early, and his father passed away not long after. Lin Yan was raised by relatives.

His father was said to have been a skilled swordsman in his prime, so Lin Yan's lifelong dream was to become a swordsman.

He had started saving money from a very young age.

However, martial arts schools that taught swordsmanship usually had high fees.

Lin Yan had heard about Changle Martial Arts School and Lu Changfeng.

He had overheard a conversation on the street, learning that the master of this new martial arts school was skilled in swordsmanship. Last night, he had defeated his opponent and become the fifth swordsman in the Blood Tempering Realm on Five Horse Street.

It was with this in mind that he came to inquire about the school's fees, hoping for the best.

"Master Lu, I've only managed to save twelve taels of silver so far. Could I join the school first, and pay the rest of the fees later?"

Lin Yan looked at Lu Changfeng with hopeful eyes.

Lu Changfeng was not someone who cared about a few taels of silver.

He reached out and took the twelve taels of silver Lin Yan offered, weighing them in his hand.

"How about this, I have a proposal. I can let you become a disciple of the school for free. Listen to it and then decide if you're willing. You can make your decision after hearing me out."

Lu Changfeng voiced his idea.

He had already made some progress on the first level of the [Storm Body Tempering Sword Technique].

However, he still needed someone to cultivate it from the beginning, allowing him to record and refine the process, so that he could perfectly create this body-tempering cultivation technique.

Lu Changfeng was very dedicated to creating the [Storm Body Tempering Sword Technique].

If he succeeded in creating a body-tempering sword technique, even if he died suddenly one day, it would be as if he had left a trace of himself in this world.

Lu Changfeng's proposal was to have Lin Yan become the test subject for his cultivation technique.

Lin Yan, without a second thought, nodded and agreed, "I am willing, Master Lu!"

Lin Yan had been orphaned and had endured cold stares and mockery from his relatives.

He would be grateful for any place that offered him relative independence, let alone one that would teach him body-tempering sword techniques.

"Good. In that case, you are the first disciple I have taken since opening my doors on Five Horse Street."

"At Changle Martial Arts School, we distinguish between Registered Disciples, Ordinary Disciples, and True Disciples. Starting today, you are an Ordinary Disciple of the school."

"At the school, I will personally teach you body-tempering sword techniques. For lightness skills, you can find your Master's Wife, Chun Zhu. For fist techniques, you can find your Senior Disciple Brother, Black Ox."

"If you don't have a place to stay, you can choose a side room in the school's area to live in. You can also have your three meals a day at the school. These are benefits for you cooperating with my experiment."

Lin Yan gratefully knelt down and kowtowed three times to Lu Changfeng, "Disciple Lin Yan greets Master!"

Lu Changfeng did not stop him and accepted the three bows calmly.

He then led Lin Yan to the training ground and handed him a weighted long sword.

"Do you have any foundation in martial arts?"

Lin Yan held the long sword and swung it with effort, "I've secretly practiced swordsmanship on my own, but I don't know much."

Lu Changfeng could see that Lin Yan's sword-wielding and power-generating methods had a certain structure. This ten-jin sword was for the first level of the body-tempering sword technique.

It was three times heavier than a normal sword, and an ordinary person would feel their arms ache after just a few swings.

Lin Yan, at only fourteen years old, could wield it with some semblance of skill.

He thought to himself, As expected of someone with talent in swordsmanship. Even practicing in secret, he's managed to develop some proficiency.

"Hmm, not bad. Then I will directly teach you the first level of the [Storm Body Tempering Sword Technique]."

"This body-tempering sword technique is my own creation. Its cultivation is quite difficult and not suitable for ordinary people. Only those with a certain talent for swordsmanship can cultivate it successfully."

Hearing that this body-tempering cultivation technique was Lu Changfeng's own creation, Lin Yan's face showed reverence.

After hearing the latter part, his expression became a little ashamed. "Master, if I can't cultivate it..."

"Don't worry, your Master has a good eye for people. As long as you're willing to put in the effort, success will only be a matter of time."

Under Lu Changfeng's reassurance, Lin Yan gradually suppressed the panic in his heart.

Lu Changfeng began to teach Lin Yan the first level of the [Storm Body Tempering Sword Technique].

Lin Yan studied diligently, while Lu Changfeng, in addition to teaching, observed Lin Yan's physical reactions to modify some of the sword technique's variations and breathing incantations.

Thus, an hour later, under Lu Changfeng's personal guidance, Lin Yan completed a full practice of the first level of the body-tempering sword technique.

He was already drenched in sweat and collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

Lu Changfeng's gains were quite good. After revising the first layer, having Lin Yan practice a few more times should be enough to finalize the template.

"Alright, take a break, and we'll continue practicing later."

Lu Changfeng stopped.

Chun Zhu entered the martial arts school with a few elderly men and women.

The martial arts school was officially opening, so it naturally needed some staff.

These elderly individuals were all locals from Jiangzhou, responsible for cooking, cleaning, and laundry. They were diligent and didn't require much pay.

Chun Zhu had arranged all these matters perfectly, so Lu Changfeng didn't have to worry.

In the afternoon, more youths arrived at the martial arts school with their parents to register.

These youths all appeared to come from wealthy families. Although their innate talent and bone structure were lacking, their parents paid substantial fees. Moreover, these youths were only practicing as an extracurricular activity, coming to train for at most an hour a day.

Therefore, Lu Changfeng accepted three of the youths as registered disciples and assigned Black Ox to teach them body-tempering techniques.

Black Ox's cultivation had already reached the Blood Tempering Third Level, and coupled with his mid-grade boxing talent, he was more than capable of teaching these disciples body-tempering techniques.

The next day, the martial arts school gained five more registered disciples.

On the third day, the martial arts school gained three more registered disciples, bringing the total number of disciples to over ten.

On the fourth day, the martial arts school gained one ordinary disciple.

This ordinary disciple's name was Cui Tianyu. He came from a wealthy family, was fifteen years old, and was at the Blood Tempering Second Level with a lower A-grade bone structure. He was extremely fond of swordsmanship, but unfortunately, his talent for it was zero.

He had tried practicing swordsmanship at many martial arts schools without success, so he joined the Changle Martial Arts School with a "let's give it a try" attitude.

Lu Changfeng was in need of a specimen for the Storm Body Tempering Sword Technique, so he had Cui Tianyu join the martial arts school and practice with Lin Yan under his guidance.

Body-tempering sword techniques were quite rare in Jiangnan Prefecture. Most body-tempering techniques were more commonly seen in the form of boxing, palm techniques, or external martial arts.

Upon hearing that this body-tempering sword technique was created by Lu Changfeng himself, Cui Tianyu immediately decided to follow Lu Changfeng and practice diligently.

If even Lu Changfeng, the creator of this body-tempering sword technique, couldn't help him achieve success in his swordsmanship practice, then Cui Tianyu felt he should give up his dream of becoming a swordsman.

The fifth day.

Early in the morning, after Lu Changfeng practiced the second layer of the Heavenly Body Tempering Blade Technique once.

Black Ox arrived in the backyard, saying that someone had come to the martial arts school's reception pavilion and notified Lu Changfeng that he had an opponent for a duel tonight.

Lu Changfeng put on his jacket and went to the martial arts school's reception pavilion to meet the visitor.